


Dawn

by Practicemakesperfect



Series: Baeksoo Oneshots (/short stories/drabbles) [7]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: First Meetings, Flowers, Gen, M/M, They have powers, Vignette, somber
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 15:53:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21530155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Practicemakesperfect/pseuds/Practicemakesperfect
Summary: In a world consumed by night, Baekhyun is the last source of light struggling to survive. For all the time he’s spent alone, he never thought flowers could grow without the sun, but one day he stumbles across a garden…
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O
Series: Baeksoo Oneshots (/short stories/drabbles) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030035
Comments: 9
Kudos: 34





	Dawn

* * *

Dawn after darkness  
Sun has pushed the stars  
All sadness gone  
Hollow  
Empty home  
Like you

* * *

All the world has ever known is darkness.

Time has frozen night into place. The only light emanates from the moon suspended solemnly over the landscape, a barren, washed-out grey decrepit of life. Perhaps there was something before this time, but Baekhyun only knows this, has only known this, since he was born.

Or, if he’s being more specific: since he’s woken up.

He doesn’t remember ever coming into being, not that he’d expect to, but his memories are hazy the further back he tries to go, and Baekhyun suspects that maybe he just _was_ without explanation, without time.

Like this place, he has not aged a bit.

He’s always lived alone. Sleeping wherever he feels like it, wandering empty towns and fields, and it doesn’t make sense, but he knows there should be people, knows there should be a morning, even if he’s never seen any of these things. He’s never needed to eat. Never needed to drink. So he drifts without motive, wishing he could feel some sense of necessity to dictate a purpose.

The one thing he has is light. He isn’t sure why, but when he wants it to, light appears in the palm of his hand, a warm hue that colors over grey tones. He wonders if this may be connected to why he exists. So far, he hasn’t figured it out, but he does know that he must be here for something, otherwise why is he alone like this? It’s unsurprising that he’s lonely. He’s never met a single other soul for the time he’s been conscious. It’s almost driven him to the brink of insanity, to the point where he genuinely believes no one else exists other than him. Maybe this is purgatory, or hell, and he’s being punished for something he did before. Maybe this is all a dream he can never wake up from, and somewhere out there is a world with morning and people. Either way, he’s alone, and either way, he’s lonely.

He hates it.

And then he finds a garden, and meets him.

He finds it because of its smell. The fresh scent of flowers and other plantlife stop him in his walk down one of the many empty roads and he turns to find its source, following the trail until he sees, to his amazement, rows and rows of greenery.

‘Greenery.’ What a funny thing to say, when everything is all grey.

Curious, Baekhyun examines one of the flowers, holding his hand up alongside it so that his light can fall on its petals, revealing their soft pink hue. He’s reaching out to touch it with his other hand when he hears a muffled gasp behind him.

Startled, Baekhyun whips around to see the small frame of a boy in the dark. His light flickers with his surprise and disappears.

“You have, you’re, why--” Baekhyun can’t understand him the way he’s stuttering. Thinking he’ll be able to make more sense of it if he can see him, Baekhyun turns his hand to him and blankets him in light, and the boy gasps again.

When Baekhyun takes a step closer and the smaller takes a step back, he turns the light off again. “I’m not going to hurt you.” His heart is beating fast; the adrenaline is rushing through his veins. This is the first person he’s ever met, and he’s… terrified.

“What are you?” The boy whispers, and Baekhyun opens his palms.

“I’m a person. Like you.”

“A person can’t make light. I’ve never--I’ve never seen light before.”

Baekhyun points to the moon. “There’s light.”

“It’s different. Yours is different. It’s so… pretty.”

He can feel the heat on his ears at the comment, but he doesn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he asks, “Are these plants real?”

The boy nods shyly. “They’re mine. I made this garden myself.”

“But how?” Baekhyun turns back to the flowers, fingertips feathering over their petals. “I’ve never seen plants grow before. They’re beautiful.”

“I’ve never seen them with color, either. Can you...” Baekhyun watches him inch closer. “Can you show me again?”

Obligingly, he lifts his hand and the light falls on the flowers once again. He can see the boy’s face now, cheeks pink like a muted version of the petals, eyes wide with wonder at the appearance of Baekhyun’s glow. Baekhyun can’t help but stare at him. It’s spellbinding, the presence of another person, the expressions on his face and the way his eyes shine in Baekhyun’s light. The boy lifts his gaze and they look at each other for a brief moment before the boy looks away, the pink on his cheeks becoming more prominent.

Baekhyun returns his attention to the flowers. “Will you tell me how you grew these without light?”

Wordlessly, the boy kneels down and digs his fingers into the dirt in response, lifting a handful to hold it where Baekhyun can see. Nothing happens at first. And then, right in front of his eyes, a small flower pulls from the soil, unfurling its petals proudly. “It’s a daffodil,” the boy says after a moment. “New beginnings.”

“New beginnings,” Baekhyun echoes. He likes that. It seems fitting.

“I guess it’s like your light.” He’s planting the daffodil into the dirt, beside the other flowers. “I can grow plants without the sun. They don’t seem to die, either.” He hesitates. “Have you met anyone else?”

“No.” Baekhyun watches him pat the soil down. “You’re the first and only.”

The boy nods. He seems a bit disappointed. “I was just thinking, what if there are other people like us? With powers.”

“Maybe we could make this place less sad,” Baekhyun says. “I think that would be nice.”

“With your light, it’s already less sad.”

“Your plants, too.” They smile at each other, and then Baekhyun asks, “What’s your name?”

The question tastes foreign on his tongue, and the pause is so long that Baekhyun has to rethink to make sure those were the right words. But after a moment, he gets his answer, and a soft smile to accompany it. “I’m Kyungsoo.”

Baekhyun hardly notices the grey anymore. He’s focused solely on this boy’s eyes, a deep brown reminiscent of branches, of brick, of things from a distant memory that belong to the world outside their own. There is a breath of silence. And then, for the first time since his existence, Baekhyun says, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> “You’re my moonlight  
> In the nightfall I find  
> Flower so bright  
> That’s frozen in time”


End file.
